The Royal Air Force has recently taken delivery of a second Protector RG Mk1 Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS) from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
Engineers from 31 Squadron have completed the build and initial testing of this second aircraft.
Further test and evaluation, led by 56 Squadron, will continue over the coming months.
The RAF, in collaboration with Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), anticipates the delivery of five more aircraft by the end of this year. The Protector is set to replace the Reaper (MQ-9A) and begin operations in 2025.
Simon Holford, Uncrewed Air Systems Delivery Team Leader at DE&S, highlighted the progress in the press release, stating, “Seeing delivery and assembly of the second Protector aircraft in the UK is yet another measure of the significant progress on this project and testament to the hard work of everyone involved. Together with the three aircraft we have already taken delivery of in the US, we have now taken delivery of five of the sixteen aircraft we have ordered.”
Initial flight-testing using the first aircraft began in November 2023. Training has been ongoing at GA-ASI’s facilities in the US, where a Protector Technician Course started in February, and the first Protector crews graduated from the Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) in April.
This training will transition to the UK later this year at RAF Waddington, the home of Protector in the UK. In April, the RAF hosted an international MQ-9B symposium at RAF Cranwell.
Wing Commander Maccoll, Officer Commanding 31 Squadron, expressed his satisfaction in the press release, saying, “I’m delighted to see another RAF Protector assembled at RAF Waddington, thanks to the hard work of our Programme team, Defence partners, contractors, and the skill of 31 Squadron personnel. This Summer, Protector will undertake further test and evaluation and we expect more aircraft arrivals before the end of the year.”
Equipped with advanced equipment and precision strike weapons, Protector will offer critical armed surveillance capabilities and deploy against potential adversaries globally. The aircraft will feature ‘detect and avoid’ technology, allowing it to fly in busy unsegregated airspace with a potential endurance of over 30 hours.
David R. Alexander, GA-ASI President, praised the RAF’s innovation and partnership in the press release, stating, “We’re excited to see a second Protector at Waddington. We salute the RAF for their vision, innovation and longtime partnership as they transition these world-leading aircraft into their operational phase.”
The UK is investing in 16 Protector RG Mk1s for the RAF, with the first eight enabling an Initial Operating Capability scheduled for 2025 at RAF Waddington. The Lincolnshire base will serve as the home of the Force, facilitating domestic training and command and control for overseas operations.
The programme also includes the expansion of 54 Squadron’s capabilities and new infrastructure at RAF Waddington, positioning the RAF’s ISTAR Force at the forefront of cutting-edge RPAS technology.
Wish they’d run on the Reapers, keeping them in location in the ME so Protector can take on UK based Maritime and European NATO tasks.
Or even just plonking them in storage somewhere just incase.
Shawbury has aircraft storage. Unsure if CHE.
Agree it’s folly to sell of perfectly capable aircraft that could be used if we get to a crunch critical moment. We as a nation need to embrace holding onto kit and storing it away.
Don’t think we have ever held on to kit once declared Obsolete – that costs money and requires sufficient high-quality storage that we don’t have. HMT would be dead against the idea.
What defines obsolete mate?
For many nations 10 Reaper would be cutting edge.
Thanks for the question. Obsolete in MoD terms does not mean something is a bit old. Bulldog is not Obsolete. It is very old though. It is Obsolescent. Equipment is formally declared ‘Obsolescent’ when it is ageing rapidly, availability is worsening, capability is diminished, support is proving to be very difficult as some spares are no longer made. Formal declaration of ‘Obsolet’e, is when a successor equipment has been designed, developed, tested, contract award has been made and series production started. On declaration of Obsolete, all equipments and training aids, spares Special Tools and Test Equipment, publications etc are rapidly… Read more »
Thanks mate, which sort of confirms my suspicion. So being “Obsolete” does not preclude its effectiveness, where “Obsolescent” might well due to possibly literally falling apart! And if it is still effective, it can be used? I’m thinking of Warrior here? Is it “good enough” when compared to having nothing at all IFV wise? Why not keep Warrior in the AI Bns, as J suggested, and place Boxer in the Lighter 7th Bde? I too get the impression, formed over many years, that we declare obsolete and get rid of perfectly good kit too quickly? A few years ago people… Read more »
I need to add a bit of detail. As an equipment ages and becomes less reliable and harder to support (mainly because suppliers of spare parts have gone out of business) then the Equipment Support Manager (ESM) at DE&S updates the draft Obsolescence Management Plan. At some stage Obsolescence is declared by the ESM, but the equipment stays in service and obsolescence is actively managed. There are several things that can be done if the parts supply reduces or dries up. 1. Pattern parts (copies or generic items by another supplier) can be used if they exist, 2. A similar… Read more »
Fascinating post mate, thanks for those extra details.
I’d keep that copied and pasted somewhere incase this issue crops up again so you don’t need to write it all out again!
🙂
Agreed
Looking at the appalling storage of ancient tanks in the RF, it’s clear that good storage is critical to getting a working vehicle afterwards even on basic mechanical and electrical kit, never mind sophisticated sensors or control systems.
Sadly, UK doesn’t have a nice dry desert to park them in, USAF style..
I’m pretty sure the US or Australia would let us park anything we wanted in their nice dry deserts. We also have a massive logistics hub in Oman.
Alice Springs in the Northern Territory was used as a boneyard for commercial airliners laid up during COVID. It has a hot, dry climate similar to Arizona.
It has a 2.4 kilometer runway so it can handle heavy lifters – it’s the closest airport to the joint Australian/US Pine Gap facility.
I’m sure we could come to arrangement for a small fee (mates rates). Just leave us with the keys and the codes just in case we need to take them for a spin.
Probably more use forward deployed to Oman. Since that’s not a sovereign base, from where UK forces can do whatever they want, I’d have to presume that the UK investment in Oman port infrastructure was based on a solid agreement that they can.
I guess host nations need plausible deniability on actions that could hurt their interests. Don’t believe Cyprus cares what ISIS think after Op Shader missions flown from Akrotiri for example.
The SBAs on Cyprus are sovereign British territory, and are not part of the Republic of Cyprus.
Sure the Australians buried there F111s ,no not joking .
RF?
Russian Federation?
Yes, the terrorist state, led by war criminals of the FSB.
Sorry for lack of clarity..
👍
ruzzian federation
👍
Yes, someone allowed a lot of the sheds at DSDC Ashchurch to go to pot.
All being rebuilt now thankfully.
We have never kept ancient tanks, ie tanks that have been formally declared Obsolete and superseded by new equipment.
Moring DM. A poor decision to retire Reaper. Plenty of airframe hours left in those birds. I’m hoping they go into storage
They would be perfect day 1 trip wire tool to send north to find / establish contact with the Northern fleet. Surely a reserve unit could maintain and periodically train etc.
the US used older predator drones first day (and even before the kickoff) to fly in as expendable targets to get iraq to light up their radars/missile systems and give away their location. i think they first started that in bosnia actually. so yeah silly to get rid of them, wouldn’t even have to keep them in tip top shape for that sort of mission.
Agree mate. I wanted them kept in use. But as NDG explains below, not so easy while building up the new force as our people are limited.
Yes, these unmanned aircraft require a lot of men (and women) !
😏
Yep.
It may be another shortcoming of the UOR process from the Afghan era. I understand many of the Reaper shortcomings were to do the temporary nature of a lot of the support structures and the lack of CAA authorities. Essentially, they could only be used in operational or ‘deconflicted’ airspace. No training facilities, no flying in the UK or USA, just straight into ops. I don’t think XIII Sqn even had simulators for them. Whilst the capability gap is frustrating, I think it was a far better decision to reset, recover the forward deployed RPAS pilots and personnel, train personnel properly… Read more »
If these will be flying UK/EUR tasks from RAF stations, not Aircraft Carriers, why do they need to be marinised?
How is 10,000ft above sea level different to 10,000ft above ground level?
Lonpfrb. Fair challenge, my apologies for lazy language; marinised as in the SeaGuardian concept for maritime domain awareness & ASW. Although having a capability like that on the QEC may save an awful lot of Merlin hours.
Aah, so it’s the different subjects of interest that require different capability more than the physical environment. What’s in the sea or on land being different..
Perhaps that’s similar to the need for separate E7 Wedgetail from P8 Poseidon working over their respective domains, land and sea.
Sorry for being slow on the uptake.
👍 no worries, thanks for engaging
Like most things in the UK defence realm common sense never prevails. Sadly never more so in the ELINT and wider intelligence field. The folly to retire the Raptor pods. Now this. Another case being the P8 we purchased whilst long overdue great to have them. Why in gods name were they not the same specifications as the AC of VPU 2. If nothing else help bridge that land air gap you speak of. Offer more capability with flexibility of mission profile.
Is it a coincidence that Intelligence assets are subject to less oversight being top secret..
As aircraft have gone from hydraulic to fly by wire to glass cockpit their capability is increasingly software and relevant big data. So flexibility can be much greater given appropriate investment.
However that’s not without risk and cost as F-35 Block 4 has shown. Sensors also require hardware so pods make sense for options and evolution so long as RCS is not a concern.
Exactly. It’s happening I believe. Need more P8s too.
interesting insights Mate, thanks for posting,
When sent to the UK for final assembly, do they include an Imperial Tool kit ? 🤔🔧
Are you from overseas? We have not used Imperial in our engineering work for a very long time!
Ha, I see you missed the fact that the Americans do hence my comment.
It was an issue often mentioned regarding Boeing and Westlands Apache programme. 🚁
Ah, I misinterpreted. I get your point now.
Can the Reapers do any good in the Baltics or indeed in Ukraine?
they’re really easy targets- not stealthy and slow… but they’d do good spying over the border when above friendly territory like the balstic states, until war kicked off of course. if they could fit a radar on them and use them as an AWACs above central ukraine- out of russian SAM range they’d be really useful i’d think to help spot low flying cruise missiles and drones…
Yes. The Baltics does spring to mind, in Latvia, just over the border from Pskov AFB. It’d piss the Russians off!
Perhaps, given the pace of development of UAV warfare exhibited in UKR conflict, some thought should be given to the timeframe before Protector is deemed obsolete in a contested environment? The current time period may mirror the period from the late 40’s thru the 50’s w/ jet a/c development. Lots of trials, some errors. 🤔
Er…perhaps should be rephrased as somewhat reminiscent, rather than “mirror.”
Wish we had invested substantially years ago, in being able to fully design & build a massed fleet of drones completely ‘in-house’
Get maybe another 8 to replace the Merlin BaggerS for the carriers? Optionally armed (did we ever integrate any mid range air to air missles for rudimentary CAP) but really there just for the sensors , and free up some F35 CAP to be more for offensive capabilities.